Wilkes University - Amnicola Yearbook (Wilkes Barre, PA)

Page 14 text:

STANLEY H. WASILESKI, M.S. MRS. MARGARET CONNOLLY, M.S. JOHN J. CHWALEK, M.A. Director of Evening School Comptroller Director of Guidance Office Personnel Ffr5t Row: Ruth Herbert, Kay O Donnell, Ruth Bishop, Ioan Ostrowski, Kathryn Karmilowicz. Second Row: Helen Morgan, Rosalie Falchek, Elizabeth Bretz. Third Row: Ethel Nuss, Elaine Wcinstein, Dorothy Davies. Fourth Row: Janet Davies, Mary Iilson, Phyllis Wright, Mary Bcacham, Marie Opsitos. RUSSELL R. PICTON, B.S. MRS. EDNA STEVENS, A.B. JOHN D. REESE, 3.8. Executive Secretary of Alumni Director of Public Relations Director of Student Activities 10

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12 Wefzagbwz . . , The most important thing to which we are paying tribute is the double celebration which Wilkes is holding this year . . . the twenty-Fifth year of its founding and the gradua- tion of the eleventh class from the college. Bucknell University wished to provide the citizens of Wilkes-Barre an opportunity for the advantages of higher education comparable with those in other areas of the na- tion. In 1933 Bucknell University Junior College was established in Wilkes-Barre to serve the young people of the Wyoming Valley. The plans of development caused the college to grow rapidly and steps were made to have the program ex- tended to establish a four-year col- lege. In 1946 the students were given the opportunity for the first time to complete their four-year college edu- cation in Wilkes-Barre. It was at this time that the college satisfied the requirements of the state and in June of 1947 the Junior College be- came Wilkes College with an inde- pendent legal status. The earliest classes were held in rented ofIice space, and most of the faculty was drawn from Bucknell. It was at the request of the Admin- istration and the Board of Trustees that some of the community's lead- ing citizens enabled the college to move into permanent quarters. Conyngham Hall and Chase Hall were the first buildings belonging to Wilkes College. The Weckesser and Kirby homes were added to the college to facilitate its rapid growth. The Board of Trustees gave Gies Hall, Barre Hall, Butler Hall, and Pickering Hall to the college. Ash- ley and Sterling Halls were be- quested to the college as was the McClintock residence to facilitate housing for out-of-town women students. Later acquisitions of the college were Harding Hall, the Sturdevant House, and Hollenback Hall, for classroom and faculty offices. War- ner Hall, Gore Hall, Weiss Hall, and George Catlin Hall were added for dormitory facilities. In 1957 the Harold R. Stark Hall of Science was dedicated for the advancement of science. In the twenty-five years of its growth Wilkes College has made tremendous progress in the field of education. In the twenty-five years of its growth, the students of Wilkes have experienced everything from a depression, a World War, and a change in a political wayof-life. All through these times the students of Wilkes have wanted a college edu- cation. They have all had different personal goals, yet they have all been here for the foundation for attain- ing the goals which they had set for themselves.

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GERTRUDE ALLEN DOANE, A.B. Dean of Women GEORGE F. RALSTON, M.A. Dean of Men ALFRED W. BASTRESS, Ph.D. Dean of Instruction JOHN P. WHITBY, M.S. Director of Admissions and Registrar ADMINISTRATION The administration of Wilkes College has moulded into the students that which can be exemplified as the Wilkes way-of-life. Their attempt has been to show the student the path to take for success now and after grad- uation. It has been their aim for the student to acquire a sense of independence and responsibility early in his college career. This is in addition to the help which the administration is only too willing to give to the stu- dent, which is a very important part of the college way- of-life. The doors of Chase Hall are always open to the stu- dents for them to feel free to come in and talk to the deans to discuss the various things in their life which may be an asset to their lives or may be a problem im- peding the students progress. The very fact that the administration is so willing to talk and discuss with the students is of great importance to have a happy and satisfied student body. The Wilkes way-of-life which has been molded into the students by the administration with the aid of the faculty is that feeling of warmth which the adminis- tration feels to be the most important for each person. The administration has grown in their importance as the college has grown in its size. This is What helps the college to grow from the inside as the physical plant continues to expand. It is with the sense and feeling of friendship that the administration tries to do its job in regard to the students and in the development of rela- tions with the people of the Wyoming Valley.